BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) expressed anger over the reported abduction of 15 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Kogi State, demanding their immediate and unconditional release from the kidnappers’ den.
The Corps members were ambushed and abducted on Wednesday while heading home to Abuja, the nation’s capital, after finishing from their orientation camp programme in Bayelsa State.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, HURIWA slammed the government for leaving civilian youth exposed on dangerous highways, arguing that it is unconscionable for citizens serving the nation to face violent abductions without reliable highway security or emergency protection infrastructure in place.
Onwubiko said the unfortunate incident is a chilling reminder of Nigeria’s inherent highway security crisis, and the failure of the Nigerian State to adequately protect NYSC members across the country, noting that over the years, these innocent youths have been kidnapped, attacked and killed while travelling to their places of primary assignment.
Offering a scathing indictment of the country’s travel safety measures, HURIWA said it is quite unfortunate that young citizens, fulfilling their mandatory national service, can be so easily targeted by criminal elements in the country.
The Organization warned that a system failing to secure its highways effectively leaves its youth vulnerable to criminal syndicates, insisting that serving the nation should not require young Nigerians to gamble with their lives
The advocacy group, which challenged the Federal Government to provide a lasting solution to the security risks faced by corps members while travelling across the country, said the latest incident was another reason for a serious review of the NYSC scheme, particularly the movement of corps members through the country’s dangerous highways.
Further questioning why Corps members travelling from high-risk areas are not be transported by air to safer locations before continuing their journeys to their places of primary assignment, HURIWA said the government cannot continue to post young Nigerians to dangerous areas and leave them exposed to armed criminals on the nation’s highways.
The organization described the situation as unacceptable, and urged security agencies against allowing the incident to become another forgotten kidnapping case, even as it demanded the immediate rescue of all the abducted corps members, alive and unharmed,
Also, while calling for full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the abduction, the prominent Rights group said no efforts should be spared in arresting and prosecuting all those involved in the criminal act.
The Human Rights group challenged the Federal Government to urgently review the movement of corps members across the country and introduce safer transportation arrangements, including air transport where necessary.
It insisted that young Nigerians should not have to choose between serving their country and staying alive, urging the Federal Government to act appropriately and effectively to protect the lives and property of innocent Nigerians.
Information available indicated that the Corps members were reportedly abducted on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, while returning from the NYSC Orientation Camp in Bayelsa State and travelling to Abuja.
Reports said they were unfortunately intercepted by armed men along the now notorious Ofu/Itobe–Onicha-Igo road in Ofu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
